Amazon Event Announcement Recap and Insights
Amazon held its fall devices event and launched a number of new products that showcased their commitment to the consumer devices category. Below are our thoughts on what stood out and a summary of the main device announcements.
What Significant
In our view, the main push is the continued investment in FireTV. We believe Amazon sees the TV as a fundamental critical strategic point, and owning the TV operating system in the home remains their top strategic initiative. While we believe the idea of an ambient intelligence/voice-based assistant has merit as a broader part of the connected home ecosystem, the large-screen TV remains a central engagement point and in the same way one could argue the iPhone is the center of Apple’s ecosystem we feel the TV is likely to become the center of Amazon’s home ecosystem. We expect a continued doubling down on FireTV as a central strategy for Amazon’s consumer devices group.
What was Announced
- Amazon has announced a range of new devices and features, including the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which is the industry’s first streaming stick with Wi-Fi 6E support. It also features 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos audio, with double the storage capacity compared to the previous generation.
- The Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen) offers improved performance with support for Wi-Fi 6 and an updated quad-core processor. It provides vibrant 4K Ultra HD picture quality and Dolby Atmos audio, along with support for Dolby Vision, HDR, and HDR10+.
- The Fire TV Soundbar brings room-filling sound with support for DTS Virtual:X and Dolby Audio. It can be easily set up and is compatible with all Fire TV devices, while also allowing Bluetooth connectivity to phones, tablets, and other streaming devices.
- The new Fire TV search experience enhances search, browse, and recommendations using generative AI and allows customers to find and discover content in a natural and conversational way. Customers can ask Alexa detailed questions about TV shows and movies, and even request content based on specific actors, directors, scenes, genres, and more.
- AI Art is a new feature that allows customers to create artwork on Fire TV using voice commands. By giving Alexa an imagination-driven prompt, users can generate a personalized background on the Fire TV screen.
- A new Continue Watching row is being introduced to Fire TV, which aggregates favorite content from different streaming providers in one place. This makes it easier for users to pick up where they left off in movies or TV shows and quickly find what they want to watch.
- Echo Show customers can now watch over 420 live and ad-supported video channels for free with Fire TV Channels. This includes news, entertainment, sports, cooking, and lifestyle shows from popular brands like CBS, Martha Stewart, and NBC.
- Customers who purchase a new Fire TV device can enjoy a six-month subscription to MGM+ for free, which provides access to thousands of movies and original series.
- For the Fire Tablets, Amazon introduced the Fire HD 10 Kids and Fire HD 10 Kids Pro, both with faster processing, full HD displays, cameras, and longer battery life. These tablets come with 12-months of Amazon Kids+ included and offer a Disney bundle option.
- Additional features include Music Maker, which allows kids to become composers on Fire Kids tablets, and Play Together games that provide interactive gaming experiences for kids and adults to enjoy together.
- Ring introduced the Stick Up Cam Pro with advanced features like radar-based 3D motion detection, as well as Ring Routines that enable seamless control of Alexa Routines through the Ring app.
- Blink introduced the Sync Module Pro, which extends the range of Blink Outdoor 4 cameras and offers local video clip storage. They also introduced the Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera with motion-triggered LED lighting and the Outdoor 4 Battery Extension Pack for extended battery life.
- Lastly, eero announced the eero Max 7, which is Amazon’s first Wi-Fi 7 mesh system and offers faster speeds and improved performance with TrueMesh networking technology.